Best supporters??

The_Kew_Tour

If there are any criminals in here they be all off to Roscommon the next time they play:P

Uncle Mclovin

crebel81 wrote: »

Unlike Kerry, who only go for the final...kerry support at the down game last year was shocking for what i can remember...reason I say all this is I hear it from friends etc who wont go unless its in croker against a big team

Must agree that Roscommon are great supporters...against Cork in the q final I was surrounded by Roscommon fans

Kerry fans only go to the final. Yada yada yada. You have to remember that Kerry tend to play 3 games in Croke Park every year. Its a 5 hour trip to Dublin for most Kerry people. Tickets range from €50 to €70. It's not cheap if you are bringing kids with you. It's quite ironic coming from Cork fans who only started following the footballers once the hurlers went to sh1t.


On a side note the best fans (most mental) I witnessed were the Limerick hurling fans the day Kerry played Monaghan in the 1/4 final a few years back. Can't remember who Limerick were playing. Could have been Waterford.

Rebelinho

But how many would Roscommon have brought had they not won their first Connacht in a few years?

I don't think there's much difference between most of the counties tbh.

People are people no matter where they're from and a winning team will always get more behind them, a losing teams crowds will drop, a team thats being continuously successful won't have as much buzz around them, a team that was used to winning AI's won't get the same crowds after winning a provincial etc..

Then some counties are split between Hurling/Football, that makes a big difference too.

All in all though, the county doesn't matter, it's the small print that determines how many will be there.

Rebelinho wrote: »

Biggest ref bashers: I would have to say, reluctantly of course, Galway. Being at the U21 Football semi final this year and the hurling a couple of weeks back, they really do seem to take issue with every single decision. Again, just an observation, nothing personal and it may have just been a bit of a coincidence as well as being more easily annoyed due to losing both matches!!

I didn't see the U21 game, but I was at the hurling, the only time I remember anyone getting annoyed was when Canning's goal was called back for a free.

Should people have felt happy the ref gave a free when he was able to continue on and score a goal?... game wasn't out of sight at that stage either.

Apart from that I don't remember much else from that game

niallo27

Us clare people are fairly ****e to travel as well

Browney7

Uncle Mclovin wrote: »

Kerry fans only go to the final. Yada yada yada. You have to remember that Kerry tend to play 3 games in Croke Park every year. Its a 5 hour trip to Dublin for most Kerry people. Tickets range from €50 to €70. It's not cheap if you are bringing kids with you. It's quite ironic coming from Cork fans who only started following the footballers once the hurlers went to sh1t.


On a side note the best fans (most mental) I witnessed were the Limerick hurling fans the day Kerry played Monaghan in the 1/4 final a few years back. Can't remember who Limerick were playing. Could have been Waterford.

Yeah we were public enemy number 1 after that game alright for taking Waterford's all Ireland final from them. I remember Waterford rebooking the hotel rooms for 3 weeks later they were so confident. Limerick hurlers will always draw a crowd to championship because we go incase we win and don't want to miss it. The only time I've ever seen a crowd for our footballers was down in Killarney. Sure most of them are from West Limerick so its over the road. There looked to be a huge Deise following that day on the TV because of Monaghan playing.

I was taken aback last year by the Roscommon crowd last year. They proobably went because they felt it would probably be their last day out. As my friends from Kerry say to me when I slag them for not going to games "Shur we are sick of going to games at this stage". Cork hurlers always used to draw a crowd but the red stands out so much in the stadium. I think a full Hill for the Dubs is one of the sports great sights. When O'Gara scored agaisnt Tyrone last year you could see the whole hill jump in Unison and going absolutely mental.

ontheditch2

Would like to think Cork are the best supporters. But are not, Cork footballers only get 2 large attendances a year.
Notable mentions are Cavan, not the biggest population but always, always have a decent support.

Have enjoyed watching Meath and Sligo playing home qualifiers on a saturday night, and thoroughly enjoyed the occasion. Great atmosphere at both places.

Rebelinho

gilberto_eire wrote: »

I didn't see the U21 game, but I was at the hurling, the only time I remember anyone getting annoyed was when Canning's goal was called back for a free.

Should people have felt happy the ref gave a free when he was able to continue on and score a goal?... game wasn't out of sight at that stage either.

Apart from that I don't remember much else from that game

It was mainly in the first half when things were a bit tighter. Maybe it was just a couple of loud lunatics around me that were contesting every decision. I wouldn't have taken any notice, to be honest, only for experiencing the same thing at the U21 match. I know it just sounds like regular stuff that goes on but I found it a lot worse than usual.

Wouldn't blame ye in the slightest for losing it over the Canning incident, it was clear to every man and his dog that he was going to break the tackle and get in on goal.

spiralism

gilberto_eire wrote: »

But how many would Roscommon have brought had they not won their first Connacht in a few years?

I don't think there's much difference between most of the counties tbh.

People are people no matter where they're from and a winning team will always get more behind them, a losing teams crowds will drop, a team thats being continuously successful won't have as much buzz around them, a team that was used to winning AI's won't get the same crowds after winning a provincial etc..

Then some counties are split between Hurling/Football, that makes a big difference too.

All in all though, the county doesn't matter, it's the small print that determines how many will be there.



I didn't see the U21 game, but I was at the hurling, the only time I remember anyone getting annoyed was when Canning's goal was called back for a free.

Should people have felt happy the ref gave a free when he was able to continue on and score a goal?... game wasn't out of sight at that stage either.

Apart from that I don't remember much else from that game

Loads, we always pack the hyde tbh, it was pretty much full against leitrim in the 2010 connacht semi if i recall correctly and we drew a good crowd to a 3rd round qualifier in 09 against wexford when the last time we'd played in connacht was a 20 point drubbing to mayo

Syferus

gilberto_eire wrote: »

But how many would Roscommon have brought had they not won their first Connacht in a few years?

I don't think there's much difference between most of the counties tbh.

Nah. Of course the successes of the current Roscommon team has energized the supporters but in terms of raw ratios of population to attendance Roscommon have always compared favorably to almost every county in the country.

Indeed Leitrim deserve a mention, the 13,500 - nearing capacity - that turned out in Carrick in June for their match against us for a wet, windy game (that was on tv, no less) from two countries with populations in the region of 63,000 and 31,000 was a fantastic indication of how well supported both teams are.

rossie1977

gilberto_eire wrote: »

But how many would Roscommon have brought had they not won their first Connacht in a few years?

we brought 9,000 up to navan in 2009 a few weeks after a 20 point defeat to mayo.....we outnumbered you guys 5-1 at this years under 21 connacht final......we brought 18,000 down to ennis in 2006 for the minors and that was nowhere near the crowd that could and would have travelled down, i saw hundreds pulling up along the road to ennis and giving up, cars were bumper to bumper all the way from tuam to ennis

DB10

In Ulster I'd have to see its Cavan, most people here are football mad and always turn out in big numbers, especially this year with the minors and U21s doing so well.

Then I'd go:
2. Tyrone: still have a big following in Ulster anyway even with alot of success.
3. Down: They always bring a big crowd with them most places.
4. Armagh: Good support but we outnumbered them 5-1 in Clones according to their own supporters forum.
5. Donegal/Monaghan - Usually fantastic support for both.

Antrim, Derry and Fermanagh would be slightly poor imo, although on big days they can pull crowds as recent Ulster finals have shown for Derry/Antrim.

Fergus_Nash

I have to say that we in Wicklow are the most enigmatic bunch going. What happened two years ago in Aughrim with the four game run had the county rocking and the place packed. If we were to get to an All Ireland quarter final in Croke Park I'd say that the whole county would go along.

However if the county is playing badly and losing then we are the worst crowd ever and we'll constantly give out about the team.

Skyrim

Cork supporters are good craic, able to have a bit of banter and have a hurling chat with them.

WesternZulu

I am going to say Roscommon here too.
Greatly supported!

Have a real soft spot for their supporters (could be part of being half Rossie myself).
They always seem passionate, good fun and always bring a crowd.
Here is them in Ennis in 2006 for the minor final, it would nearly bring a tear to a stone :pac:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDOPibkfRNI&feature=related

In terms of badly supported teams, Galway has to be right up there.

As for my own county Mayo, our fans are a bit bi-polar...we either think we are the worst team to ever set foot on a football field or we get carried away after one win and release 20 songs to Mid West in celebration!

Mayo is fairness are very well supported, one of the better team especially considering we have had our fair share of heartache.

shiibata

2004 Ulster Final comes to mind to back up Donegal and Armagh support, Croke park nearly had a full house for this.

kksaints

As much as it pains me to say this. I always thought Wexford fans were very good.

K-9

DoctaDee wrote: »

Well if we equate "best" supporters with committment ... then an honourable mention should go to Tyrone and Armagh in 2005 ... championship football/hurling brings out the best in supporters ... now a cold Winter's day for a league game is a completely different animal

They had 20,000 or so at a McKenna Cup Final in January around that time as well which was pretty amazing, about 15,000 at the 04 final between Donegal and Tyrone a couple of weeks before Cormac's death.

thefa

Rebelinho wrote: »

The Cork fans are an impressive sight in the Thurles town end terrace on a sunny day before a big hurling match. The football supporters only come out in their droves for a wkd in killarney really, or an AI obviously.

To point out the obvious, there's a lot more big games in the munster hurling championship than football championship. The only poor team in the munster hurling isn't even in the Liam McCarthy cup anymore. The teams left (Tipp excluded) are fairly evenly matched and there's more tradition and rivalry in the fixtures so will naturally attract bigger crowds.

Now fair weather fans is not really something you could attribute more to the football team than hurling. The football fans have had to deal with far more barren times and disappointing performances over the last decade and you couldn't deny the size of the bandwagon the hurlers had for some of the early to mid 2000s.

Find some country areas in the county to be more likely to have a steady preference for the footballers or hurlers. Like Beara/Carbery is football, east cork for the hurling. City is a bit more fickle.

I'd have said the Dublin football fans would be up there but the booing for opposition frees makes them average.

soccymonster

For me, i'd say kildare football supporters are some of the best to travel, just from what i see on tv and the likes and they're a sound bunch too from what I remember when limerick played them 3 years or so ago in the qualifiers..

Cill Dara Abu

Well as a Kildare man I would have to say the Lilywhites always travel in huge numbers, its a football mad county.

Other than that I would say Roscommon are great, I remember when we played them in Portlaoise in the qualifiers a few years ago there was a huge number of Roscommon fans there, and they let us know when they beat us after extra-time.

grenache

phkk wrote: »

Has to be Waterford,always travel in huge numbers

Used to travel in huge numbers. They only took 6,000 to the Munster Semi Final with Limerick last month. Poor considering they were the reigning Munster champions.

Kildare's fan have impressed me greatly. They played Limerick in a qualifier 3 years ago and must have brought 8,000 to the Gaelic Grounds. And they were so vociferous in their support. Dublin's fans are very loyal too to be fair, i can remember league games in Cork and Killarney when i was younger where they brought down a couple of thousand. You wouldn't find that level of support in any other county. Cork's hurling fraternity is strong and they always travel in numbers but their football support is small in comparison and not all that impressive. Sure they'll come out for games with Kerry but apart from that they dont travel well. Meath are another team who attract a relatively big fan base, they put over 20k in Pairc Tailteann last weekend, that's fair going for a qualifier game.

Two counties who always amaze me at badly supported they are would be Kerry in football and Galway for hurling. With regards to Kerry maybe it's down to their success that their fans wont travel en masse for any games other than Munster or All Ireland finals. Limerick have out-numbered them in Killarney twice in recent years, which is amazing considering football plays second fiddle to hurling in Limerick. Maybe the reason Galway are so badly supported in hurling is because for years they had no proper provincial championship competition, they found themselves going directly into the AI semi. They didn't have the opportunity to build a proper core of fans, unlike teams in Munster or Leinster who had ready made exciting games against strong opposition. This is the only explanation i can think of. I've been to a few Galway games over the years and sometimes i've had trouble picking out maroon jerseys in the crowd. The u-21 finals of 2000 and 2002 spring to mind, both times against Limerick. We must have out-numbered them 15-1 in the first final. There was 30,000 at the 02 final and i'd estimate only 500 of those were Tribesmen. Very strange considering Galway's success at underage level. One would think their fans would come out and get behind them. Cork also seemed to have many more fans at the 05 senior final than Galway. Perhaps it will take an All Ireland win to get guys from Loughrea, Castlegar, Athenry and Gort to start coming to games in numbers.

J Cheever Loophole

shiibata wrote: »

2004 Ulster Final comes to mind to back up Donegal and Armagh support, Croke park nearly had a full house for this.

It was nearly full. Hill 16 was closed for some reason (might have been the Special Olympics), thus reducing Croke Park's capacity to around 69,000. The official attendance was over 67,000, thus making it the biggest attendance in history at a Provincial Final in which Dublin was not involved.

Donegal and Armagh also drew a crowd of over 76,000 for the 2003 All Ireland semi-final.

K-9 wrote: »

They had 20,000 or so at a McKenna Cup Final in January around that time as well which was pretty amazing,

Sorry to be pedantic K-9, but that was actually a McKenna Cup semi-final. I remember the joke doing the rounds was that the Ulster Council were going to have to ask for the use of Croke Park for McKenna Cup Finals!!

dcr22B

thefa wrote: »

I'd have said the Dublin football fans would be up there but the booing for opposition frees makes them average.

Are you trying to tell me that there was absolute silence in the Hyde every time young O'Connor went to take a free last Sunday?

Every county has its boo boys, the reason the Dubs are remembered is because there is a larger crowd of them making the noise.

Personally, I hate the booing. I have to say I don't think you can say who the best supporters in the country are TBH.

largepants

Uncle Mclovin wrote: »

Kerry fans only go to the final. Yada yada yada. You have to remember that Kerry tend to play 3 games in Croke Park every year. Its a 5 hour trip to Dublin for most Kerry people. Tickets range from €50 to €70. It's not cheap if you are bringing kids with you. It's quite ironic coming from Cork fans who only started following the footballers once the hurlers went to sh1t.


On a side note the best fans (most mental) I witnessed were the Limerick hurling fans the day Kerry played Monaghan in the 1/4 final a few years back. Can't remember who Limerick were playing. Could have been Waterford.

Five hours from Kerry to Dublin for most Kerry people? Are you going around by Donegal or what?But yes you are right the expense can be a bit much for some people.

Browney7

largepants wrote: »

Uncle Mclovin wrote: »

Kerry fans only go to the final. Yada yada yada. You have to remember that Kerry tend to play 3 games in Croke Park every year. Its a 5 hour trip to Dublin for most Kerry people. Tickets range from €50 to €70. It's not cheap if you are bringing kids with you. It's quite ironic coming from Cork fans who only started following the footballers once the hurlers went to sh1t.


On a side note the best fans (most mental) I witnessed were the Limerick hurling fans the day Kerry played Monaghan in the 1/4 final a few years back. Can't remember who Limerick were playing. Could have been Waterford.

Five hours from Kerry to Dublin for most Kerry people? Are you going around by Donegal or what?But yes you are right the expense can be a bit much for some people.

I'm sure the people of Waterville, valentia, and ballyferriter will set you straight. When you factor in stopping somewhere on the way down it would be near 5 hours.

yop

After Sunday I would not say that the Rossies are the "Best Supporters", maybe yes bring a great following but the disrespect they gave to the Galway minors and Mayo team during the game was embarrassing really.
As I also said in another thread, shouting and jumping up and down, one section it maybe, during the National Anthem is down right ignorant.

Without doubt they bring a following though.

Lemlin

Think my own county deserves a mention. Cavan brought 20,000 supporters to Croke Park for an U21 final. A county of only 60,000 people. More than the other three counties playing that day put together (Dublin hurlers, Kilkenny hurlers and Galway U21).

If the senior team showed a bit of passion, they'd get similar crowds.

In terms of crowds, I'd say Meath bring a small enough crowd but they have passionate supporters.

I'd say Armagh and Tyrone are best though. Both counties bring huge support.

DoctaDee

K-9 wrote: »

They had 20,000 or so at a McKenna Cup Final in January around that time as well which was pretty amazing, about 15,000 at the 04 final between Donegal and Tyrone a couple of weeks before Cormac's death.

Yeah I take my hat off to all the Ulster teams - the night they switched the lights on in Croker v Tyrone in 2007 was fantastic, made so by the huge contingent from Tyrone - Donegal and Armagh likewise

largepants

Browney7 wrote: »

I'm sure the people of Waterville, valentia, and ballyferriter will set you straight. When you factor in stopping somewhere on the way down it would be near 5 hours.

Fair enough but the poster said 'most Kerry people'. I'm not looking for a clap on the back but I've travelled big mileage to follow my county this year. The time factor doesn't bothered me at all but the expense part would. In recent years I'd travelled to Sligo and Roscommon for games and will continue to once I can keep affording it.

JohnnyBomb

its crazy to say dublin fans can have the best support when at the end of the day it should be expected when they live close to the stadium, you can even notice too since hurling has come on more and more over the years and now is going places and become a strong team in the championship. where years ago it was never supported like the football. i feel teams like down, cork and kildare show great support wheter it been a league game or championship and will always travel the support for these teams never really drops on any year same with roscommon